Forum on tertiary education crisis
THE Eastern Cape’s Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana is part of a 10-member team which meets this weekend to find lasting solutions to the country’s tertiary education funding crisis.
The National Education Crisis Forum, which is led by former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke, comprises academics, former union bosses, the business sector and the clergy.
Qumbu-born Mpumlwana serves in the forum, along with former Cosatu leader Jay Naidoo, former Gauteng education MEC and academic Mary Metcalfe, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Judge Yvonne Mokgoro and Professor Pitika Ntuli.
The forum is to convene its first stakeholder engagement tomorrow and Sunday in Johannesburg, to shape the focus of its work. “Our intention is to deepen understanding of the education crisis, while facilitating the creation of an environment that enables all stakeholders to actually hear each other as they develop real solutions to the crisis,” said Moseneke.
The #FeesMustFall campaign was launched last year at various campuses including Rhodes University, Wits University, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Johannesburg.
It was the students’ response to escalating university fees, which at the time were between R60 000 and R100 000 a year.
Towards the end of last year, the government felt compelled to announce a moratorium on fee increases for this year.
President Jacob Zuma then established the fees commission to investigate university funding after students protested against fee increases and demanded free higher education.
But the public hearings of the Judge Jonathan Heher-led commission got off to a shaky start.
Some students felt it was a waste of time as there were no clear indications of what would happen next year.
This they based on the fact that the timeframes for the commission to wrap up its investigation were extended.
A showdown is expected next year between students and Wits University management after the university announced earlier this week that they would effect an 8% fee increment next year.
A similar showdown between students and university management resulted in the burning of university infrastructure valued at more than R600-million due to violent protests.
“We acknowledge the validity of the call for free quality education for all. It is our belief that at this critical point in the life of South Africa, as we convene stakeholders – inviting them to be open to new possibilities – we can work together, to identify meaningful solutions to the current impasse” said Moseneke, who is the convener of the fees forum.
“We have a complex task ahead of us, as the dynamics of each stakeholder are unique – and the situation is constantly changing.” —